Beta/Beta reader – a proofreader. If a story is “Un-Beta’d” that means that it hasn’t been proofread by someone other than the author.

D/s – Dominance/Submission. Not to be confused with S&M, but often used in conjunction.

Drabble – Short fic, usually about 100 words.

DubCon/NonCon – Dubious Consent/Non consensual. Almost Rape and Rape. Not for the faint of heart.

Fic/FanFic/Fanfic – story written by a fan.

Fruit Warnings – Used mostly with anime, each fruit represents a different rating, like with the movies. I can’t remember all of them, but Fanlore does.

H/C – Hurt/Comfort. A Character gets abused (emotionally, physically, or both) and the other comforts them.

Mary Sue – Spawn of Satan. No, really. A Mary Sue is (sometimes, but not always) an author insert; an original character that is the best at everything and has no character flaws. She is the woman who will make Snape take a Bath. She’s a Better Hunter than the Winchesters. She’s smarter than Rodney McKay. And everyone in the story loves her. And her name is Raven Moonbeam and she’s psychic and telepathic. (Read a couple of stories with Mary Sue warnings, I’m not really just being funny. And I don’t mean to be sexist. Mary Sue can be a boy.)

Meta – like metafiction or metatheatre, it’s fanfic that references itself as fanfic. Or, posts that talk about fandom.

OTP – One true pairing. The number one pairing in a fandom or for a particular fan. McShep is the OTP for many Stargate: Atlantis fans, myself included. I’m in the minority with Star Trek, however, with an OTP of Spock/McCoy. An OTP is for the belief that there is no other way these characters could exist, except by being in love. Think Starsky and Hutch. Variations include OT3 (one true threesome. I’m a fan of Robin III/Superboy/Impulse) and OT4 (One true foursome. Such as Team Shep in SGA or Team Free Will in SPN)

PWP – Plot what Plot or Porn without Plot.

Rec/Rec’d – Short for recommendation. I rec fics. This is a rec post. That story was rec’d by me.

RPF/RPS – Real People Fic/Real People Slash – Instead of writing about characters, some people write about the actors. Or the persona of the actor. Or a simulacrum of the actor. It gets very meta after that point.

‘Ship – short for relationship. It refers to a romantic relationship, usually involving the fan’s OTP. A person who endorses a particular pairing is a shipper. It can be used as a noun, or a verb (As in, I ship Spock/McCoy).

Warnings – Just what it sounds like. Most fanfic comes rated, like movies, and most contain warnings for everything from mpreg to containing certain characters.

WIP – Work in Progress

Whumpage – the many beatings of a particular character.

Yaou/Yuri – Slash/femslash. In Japanese. Mostly Anime, but can be used elsewhere.

Most fanfic is Porn. Or Erotica. Sometimes, but not always, the name order indicated the “dominant” partner. So, if it reads Jeeves/Wooser, that usually means Jeeves is on Top. If it were to read Wooster/Jeeves, it would be reversed. This will lead to warnings, like “Jeeves/Wooser, Wooster/Jeeves” if they switch off during sex.

There’s more, and I’ll update this as I come across it. Or as you ask me to.